The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Purchasing dual carbs...recommendations????

I will soon purchase a pair of 1bbl carbs for my Fenton intake (235cui 1957).
Trying to get an idea of what you guys are using, and what brand u recommend. I am looking for a good, reliable carb.
I currently have stock rebuilt rochesters which have been nothing but issues since day 1. Suggestions r appreciated! THANKS!
PLEASE INCLUDE WHERE TO PURCHASE!

Reliable is a relative term - none of the cars that came with these died on the road or refused to start when they were new.
Nothing you can buy is going to be reliable until you re-jet it, adjust the linkage, and get the chokes in shape.
Does it matter what they look like?
Price?

The real trick is to make absolutly sure that both carbs are from the same application. I had an issue with that buying re-mans. Both were supposed to be the same, part number was correct, but one was a Chevy carb, the other was a ford carb. The re-man company that they were soruced from is no longer in business. There are some on here that will tell you to use carbs for a 216, and modify the manifold to put the bolt pattern to the narrower spacing, especially for street use. I will not disagree with that, as using 2 carbs for a stock application is overkill, and can be difficult to get tuned correctly.
As far as what brand/type of carb to use, you'll get several answers, with the Carter YF, Holley-Webber, and Holley-Carter being the common suggestions. All of these are good choices. I'm using Holley 1904s, as I mentioned in the PM, which is also a good carb, though you'll have to most likely hunt those at the salvage yard and rebuild them yourself, like I did. The advantage to doing to overhaul yourself is that you know for sure what's inside, unlike a re-man (see re-man issue above).

http://thecarburetorshop.com/

Talk to Jon.

both carbs are from the same application

This is true, and unfortunately a pretty common problem.
If the carburetors have been apart, they may no longer contain all the internal bits called for on the tag. There are several different metering rods, power valves, venturis, body or throttle castings with drilled idle passages that can be swapped but will not run the same.
If you buy rebuilds, make sure they can be returned or exchanged.
Carburetors that fit the SAE #3 bolt 2-15/16" pattern are probably a bit big for dual use; the smaller SAE #2 2-11/16" pattern will identify a more suitable size such as from a 216.
The smallest venturi "B" (smaller than the original 235) with your bolt pattern is from the Gen-3 230 motor.

As an owner of a dual carbed 261 with Fentons like you are considering, the first thing I suggest is sell the leak-chesters. I too had these on my initial setup and got tired of cleaning up the leaks.

I replaced them with Carter YF's, they are a direct plug in, you don't have to change linkages or fuel lines. Like mentioned above, you need to either buy rebuild carbs together or send them to be rebuilt together. Its important that you mention that you are running duals to make sure they are identical.

Once you have two identical carbs, you need to spend time getting them to play nicely together. First and foremost, your engine needs to be in tune already. Trying to solve an issue with dual carbs just adds variables and make things harder.

Purchase a uni-syn tool, you can get these for short money on eBay. Install the carbs and use the tool to get them set alike, drive it around and see if you have any hesitation. This process will take time. I found that my final adjustments were done by starting the engine warm and adjusting the carbs with the linkages loose, then snugging the linkages. Ever since I have done that, I havent had to touch them.